Team Members

​Gil grew up in Black’s Chapel Methodist, in rural Cumberland County. The son of Jack Wise and Louise Collier he has been a resident of eastern North Carolina all his life. He is a graduate of Methodist College (1983), Duke Divinity School (1988) and was awarded a Doctor of Ministry from Solid Rock School of Theology in 2011. He has served in a variety of ministry settings over the past thirty years. He began as a camper at Camp Rockfish, served as a camp counselor, camp assistant director and chairperson for the Conference Camping Commission. 

He served on Annual Conference Staff. He served in student field setting placements at Maysville, Hopewell, High Falls, Fair Promise, Cool Springs and Carbonton United Methodist Churches. He served as associate pastor of Fayetteville Community Church: a non-denominational congregation. He served Buie, Parkton, Zion and The Rock United Methodist Churches before planting Solid Rock United Methodist Church in 2001. Solid Rock grew to incorporate 4 other small membership churches in Community, Mt. Ariel, Woodland and Spring Lake United Methodist Churches that formed a team supporting ministry to over 7,000 persons in area around Ft. Bragg. 

From 2013-2021, Gil served on the Bishop’s Cabinet as District Superintendent of the Beacon District where he led 85 churches and supervised over 65 pastors. Gil has a heart for the rural church. He has been a leader in the Duke Endowment Thriving

Rural Churches program. It is his belief that reclaiming the movement of Methodism will reconnect all our churches, regardless of size or location, to a calling that is still deep in our roots. He believes “We are living in an hour of unprecedented outpouring upon the church of Jesus Christ that we might fulfill our calling to be a witness to the nations.”

Fulfilling a prophecy spoken over him in 1990, Gil is a part of a new move of God that is impacting the world. He was instrumental in launching the Global Methodist Church and is a part of leading the NC Conference of the Global Methodist Church with over 400 congregations across the state. Gil serves as the Lead Presiding Elder of the Fayetteville District and Dean of the Cabinet for the NC Conference. He is main role in ministry is a Local Church as the Lead Pastor of Salem Methodist Church in Eastover.

Gil is married to Linda Trudeau Wise, also a graduate of Methodist College (1983). She is a retired elementary music teacher in the State of North Carolina having served for 30 years in 3 school districts across the state. They have three children: Joel, Benjamin, Elizabeth and 4 grandchildren.

Katie joined the Salem team in July 2019. Growing up in a military family, she moved frequently before settling in Columbia, South Carolina, where she spent 12 years. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Business Management. With over 12 years of management experience and more than 2 years in banking, Katie brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Katie is the proud mother of two beautiful children.

​Pastor Mike Bass was ordained at this year's GMC Annual Conference as an Elder. Mike is gifted in Biblical Studies and will be serving in this capacity at Salem. He has a calling to those outside the church. An avid biker, Mike is not your typical pastor. With the grounding of the Holy Scriptures, Mike reaches across all the lines of society to bring a scriptural witness into the lives of others. He is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and previously served as the Associate Pastor of the 5 Campuses of Solid Rock with our Pastor Gil Wise. Together Mike and Gil gave witness to the rise of a new church plant in Harnett County that had a budget of over 2 Million.

Michael is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate. He received his bachelor’s degree in social work from Methodist University in 2011. After graduating he took the opportunity to serve in ministry as a local pastor for the United Methodist Church. He received his master’s degree in social work from the University of New England, online in 2017. 

Michael believes in a person-centered, strengths-based approach. He has learned through experience that all people have strength and purpose. At times we need help to discover or remember the qualities that contribute to our excellence. 

Michael completed his internship and began clinical work with people struggling with addiction. He has also worked with children and adolescents struggling with defiance, ADHD diagnosis, anxiety, gender dysphoria, and childhood trauma. Michael’s experience with adults includes anxiety, depression, BPD, dissociative disorders, bipolar disorder, gender identity, marriage/couple conflict, and addiction. He uses an informal conversational approach grounded in CBT, ACT, and solution focused modalities to help traverse the obstacles people face in becoming their best selves.

The Haymount Institute is the largest and most widely recognized privately-owned outpatient mental health clinic in North Carolina. We serve Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson and Harnett counties and throughout North Carolina. We offer a full range of specialty behavioral health services provided by a culturally & professionally diverse staff of Psychiatrists, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists and Clinical Therapists with the collective intention to serve children, adolescents, adults, couples and families in a community setting.

It is their mission to serve each of their clients with the personalized and individual care they desire. They offer evening and weekend hours to accommodate any schedule, and accept all insurances including: Tricare, BCBS, Medicare and Medicaid. We offer a courtesy discounted rate to those who do not have insurance.
The Haymount Institute is under contract with the NC Conference of the Global Methodist Church to provide psychological assessments of individuals who have applied to become pastors in the Global Methodist Church.

Gary Wages celebrates 22+ years at Salem! He earned his Bachelor of Music in piano and voice from East Carolina University. Soon after, he was accepted into the United States Naval School of Music, where he studied military music, jazz, and pop music. Upon completing the School of Music he became the pianist and vocalist with the US Navy Sixth Fleet Show Band, Gaeta and Naples Italy.

After the Navy, Gary was certified in public school music at Campbell University. Additional studies were completed at Fayetteville Technical Community College, receiving his associate degree in business.

Gary Taught piano and voice at his studio in Falcon, North Carolina, and has been a church musician and entertainer. He is currently the minister of music, serving as choir director, pianist, and organist here at Salem Methodist Church.